Upholstered furniture comprising a head rest



Sept. 27, 1966 J HOLZNER ETAL 3,275,374

UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE COMPRISING A HEAD REST Filed April 14, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet l I VE/v rows.

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UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE COMPRISING A HEAD REST 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 14, 1965 FIG. 2

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UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE COMPRISING A HEAD REST Filed April 14, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTO?5. Josn oLz/vme M015 SCH-EFTHALEP V" M Sept. 27, 1966 J HQLZNER ET AL 3,275,374

UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE COMPRISING A HEAD REST Filed April 14, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 FIG. 4

Sept. 27, 1966 3,275,374

UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE COMPRISING A HEAD REST Filed April 14, 1965 J. HOLZNER AL 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 .FIG. 5

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United States Patent 3,275,374 UPHOLSTERED FURNITURE COMPRISING A 7 HEAD REST Josef Holzner, Taufkirchen, and Alois Schefthaler, Post Tanfkirchen, Germany, assignors to Himolla Polstermobelwerk Carl Hierl G.m.b.H., Taufkirchen, Germany Filed Apr. 14, 1965, Ser. No. 448,204 Claims priority, application Germany, Dec. 21, 1964, H 54,661; Aug. 27, 1964, H 4,910 3 Claims. (Cl. 297-403) The present invention relates to upholstered furniture comprising a head rest, such as armchairs, television seats and the like.

Upholstered furniture such as armchairs, television seats, sofas and settees frequently have a separate headrest cushion. Seats are known in which the head cushion is rigidly joined to the upper part of the back rest. In

other known seats, the cushion is inserted in mountings which are disposed on the upper part of the back rest.

Seats having removable head cushions are frequently preferred to seats with integral head cushions or rests since they may be adapted to various purposes by removingor fitting the head cushion and since they appear less bulky when the head cushion is removed than seats having an integral head cushion.- These advantages of known seats, with removable head rests, are counteracted by the disadvantage that the head cushion must be stored separately after it is removed, and that the mountings for the head cushion are visible on the rear part of the seat or chair after removal of the cushion or pad. Both are considered to be annoying.

According to the invention, the novel upholstered furniture comprises a head rest which may be fixed in an operative position above the back rest, or moved under positive guidance fiom above the back rest into a cavity in the back rest.

The invention is preferably applied to seats whose back rests comprise a posterior section and an anterior section receiving or representing the actual back-rest cushion. In this case, the cavity intended to receive the head rest in its inoperative position is appropriately formed by a recess in at least one of the mating surfaces of the anterior and posterior sections of the chair back.

In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the head rest is secured to at least one support which is articulated on the posterior section of the chair back in a hinge-like manner. The head rest may, however, be fastened on a support which runs with sliding pegs or studs in guide rails positioned within the back rest. In another appropriate form of construction, the head rest is connected to the back rest by means of a guiding linkage of the parallelogram type.

In applying the invention to seating furnitude comprising a separate anterior portion or section of the back rest, it is appropriate to make provision for the anterior backrest section to be pivotable about an axis close to its bottom edge.

If the back rest of the seating furniture comprises a posterior section and an anterior section separate therefrom, the head rest may be disposed in such manner that the anterior section, in its normal position, secures the head rest in its operative position.

In the form of construction of the invention comprising a pivotable head rest, a bracket or mounting carrying the head rest may, for example, be hinged to a point of the posterior section so that it is clamped betweejn the anterior and posterior sections when the head rest is in the upper extended position. In analogous manner, a linkage of the parallelogram type, carrying the head rest, may similarly be secured against accidental dropping out of the operative position. If the head rest is fastened on a 3,275,374 Patented Sept. 27, 1966 support guided in rails, it may be secured against accidental dropping from the operative position by being made to rest on the upper side of the anterior section of the back rest.

A head cushion is of importance primarily in the case of chairs such as television chairs, lounge chairs or the like, whose back rest may be placed in several angular settings with respect to the seat surface, and thus, according to its angle, provides a seated or recumbent relaxed position to the user. In chairs having an adjustable back rest of this kind, it is advantageous for kinematic reasons that the fitting, on which the anterior section of the back rest is secured, should be mounted on the hinge bolt pivotably connecting the actual seat unit and the posterior section of the back rest.

The fittings secured on the seat unit and the posterior section of the back rest, and connected by hinge pins or the like, are connected by a stay which is hingedly mounted on one of the fittings and has lateral recesses or notches for engagement with a pin mounted on the other fitting, and a detent latch or the like for varying its engaged position, the fittings being held in their relative angular position by the stay against the action of a tension spring connecting the two fittings, the stay cooperating with the pin by virtue of its own weight.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be readily appreciated and more fully understood with refer. ence to the following detailed description, when considered with the accompanying drawings, wherein FIG. 1 shows a partly sectioned television chair according to the present invention in one position;

FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 show sectional details of the chair according to FIG. 1 in various operational positions;

FIG. 5 shows an armchair according to the invention; and

FIG. 6 illustrates an enlarged detail of the chair of FIG. 5.

In the chair shown in FIG. 1, a seat unit 1 is mounted in a known manner (not shown in detail) so that it may be swiveled, and tipped forward and rearward on a cruciform base 1a. A foot rest 1b is articulated to the seat unit 1 so that it swings forward into its operative position when the seat unit is inclined backwardly. The seat unit is upholstered on its upper side 1c.

A back rest comprises a posterior section 2 and an anterior section 3. The posterior section 2 has the form of a box open at the front, whereas the anterior section 3 has the form of a box open at the rear and is upholstered on its front side 3a. This front side 3a is circular at its lower end about a horizontal axis and extends upwards with a radius of curvature which increases gradually. The anterior and posterior sections 2 and 3 between them enclose a cavity wherein a head cushion 4 is stored in its inoperative position. The head cushion 4 is secured on a support 5 which is articulated to a top cross-piece 7 of the posterior section 2 by means of a hinge 6.

On each of their two lateral surfaces, the posterior and anterior sections 2, 3 are coupled to the seat unit by means of a fitting shown generally at 8. This fitting is shown in detail in different positions of the back rest sections in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4. The fitting comprises a component 9 screwed to the seat unit 1, on which a component 10 screwed to the posterior section 2, and a component 11 screwed to the anterior section 3 are articulated by means of a hinge pin 12 so that they are pivotable independently of each other. The pivot axis of the back rest sections established by the hinge pin 12 coincides approxiby a tension spring 15. A stay or strut 17 is moreover I articulated to the fitting component bymeans of a pivot pin 16. The stay 17 has on its underside three notches 18a, 18b and 18c for engagement under the weight of the stay behind a peg or stud 19 which is riveted to the component 9. Near to the notched end of the stay. 17 a detent latch 20 is hinged, as shown in'FIG.14 with its free end covering the middle notch 18b of the stay in its bottom terminal position.

the hidden head cushion 4. FIG. 4 shows the posterior more inclined resting or television viewing position shown in detail in FIG.4, by tipping the posteriorsection for- Pivotal movement of the I detent latch 20 is limited by a projection 21 on the stay 17.

section 2 in its considerably inclined rear position in which the peg 19 is engaged in the rear notch 180 of the stay 17; the anterior section is again shown in its normal position.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show another embodiment of the invention, as applied to an armchair whose seat unit firmly.- rests on four legs 1d in conventional manner. A backrest posterior section 2 and an anterior section 3, of the form described with reference to FIG. 1, are mounted on the seat unit. In this case, the posterior section is'ri gidly fastened to the seat unit, but it could alternately be articu-' lated by means of the fitting 8 shown in FIGS. 1 to 4.

The anterior section 3 is again articulated to the seat unit close to its bottom edge by means of hinge pins 12;. a support 5 carrying a head cushion 4 is guided along the posterior section 2 by means of sliding pegs 6a which are displaceable upwards and downwards in two guide rails 6b, the latter being secured on parallel lateral supports of the posterior sections (see'FIG. 6).

The guide system for the head cushion 4 described above is also applicable to television chairs of the kind depicted in FIG. 1, and the disposition shownin FIG. 1,

for swinging the head cushion out of the operative position into the cavity of the back rest, may equally be applied for armchairs having rigid legs and/or a rigid back-rest posterior section.

In both embodiments of the invention, illustrated in FIGSLl-4 and 5-6, the anterior section 3 is tilted forward for removal of the head cushion 4 from its inopera-" tive positionshown in chain lines in the cavity of the back rest 2, 3 into the full-line operative position. The

invention illustrated, by virtue of the fact that the support 5 is pressed against the top cross-piece 7 of the backrest posterior section 2 by the anterior section 3 swung back into its normal position.

, In the form of television chair shown inFIGS. 1 to 4, the back rest 2, 3 may be swung from its upright seating position shown in FIG. 1 and in detail in FIG. 2, into a Ward against the action of the spring 15 until the stay, 17 bears with its front notch 18a on the peg 19, so thatthe detent latch 20 swings downwards past the .peg -19'1by V the action of gravity.

On releasing the posterior section thereafter, it is drawn back by the spring 15until the rear notch of the stay 17 engages behind the peg 19. During this rearward motion, the detent latch 20 causes the peg 19 to slip past the middle notch 18b of the'stay 17. The detent latch is, however, inoperative when the backrest is opposite direction.

The foregoing disclosure relates only to preferred emtipped in the.

bodiments of the invention, which are intended to include. i

all changes and modifications of the examples described within'the scope of the pended claims.

What we claim is:

1. In the art of manufacturing upholstered furniture;

such as armchairs, television seats, sofas, settees, couches and the like improvement that comprisesthe provision of a head rest which in its inoperative position is'received in a cavity inthe back rest and which is connected with the posterior back rest. section by means of a guiding mechanism, said mechanism having. as its. principal element a structureof co-acting pivoting arms, forming a selectively adjustable mechanical system wherein the said head rest is adapted for functional movement from the inoperative position to, the operative position above the 2. Upholstered furniture asdefined in claim 1, wherein n the anterior back rest section is covered with a pad on its upper-side and is 'pivotally mounted on the same pivot shaft pin fitting in such manner that its axis coincides,

approximately with the lower end of the pad.

3. Upholstered furniture as definedin claim 1, further; comprising a seat unit, fitting components on the seat unit and the posterior section, hingepins for joining the fitting components, a stay articulated on one of the fitting com-' ponents for holding both of them in their relative angular setting, a .peg disposed on the other fitting component,

the stay including notches for engagement behind the peg, biasing means connecting the fitting components; and a detent latch for holding the stay and for varying the engaged position against the action of the .biasing means,

the stay cooperating with the peg by virtue of its weight.

References Citedby the Examiner FOREIGN PATENTS 712,556 7/ 1954 Great Britain.

FRANK B. SHERRY, Primary Examiner. V CASMIR A. NUNBERG, AssistantExaminer.

invention as set forth in the apr 

